North Korea's next dynastic succession may have been secured, with new TV images of leader Kim Jong-un's wife suggesting that Pyongyang's first lady recently gave birth.

Ri Sol-ju, the wife of the reclusive nation’s leader was shown to be heavily pregnant by state TV in late December when attending a memorial service for former leader and Mr Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il.

Recent photos posted online taken at a recent official New Year’s party show the wife of the young leader wearing a close-fitting skirt suit with no sign of pregnancy. Rumours were also fed by the all woman official performance including the song - ‘When A Child is Born’.

South Korean papers ran editions with before and after photos of the leader’s wife including suggestive captions.

Ri Sol-ju attending a memorial service for her husband's late father Kim Jong-il in mid-December (left) and Ri attending a New Year celebration event in Pyongyang

The December photographs showed Ms Ri appearing visibly pregnant despite wearing a loose fitting traditional Choson-ot, as it is known in the north, at the first year memorial service for the nation’s second leader.

Ms Ri’s marriage to Mr Kim only came to light in the notoriously secretive nation last July when photographs were released showing a young, smartly-dressed companion accompanying him at official events.

Pyongyang confirmed the speculation later that same month when they admitted she was his wife.

South Korean media cites intelligence reports stating that the couple were married in 2009 and already have a child, although none of this has been confirmed.

On New Year’s Day, Mr Kim, believed to be 29, gave a surprise televised address, the first New Year’s broadcast for 19 years, calling for a “radical turnaround” in the country’s economy.